LOUIS, a silent film directed by Dan Pritzker, starring Jackie Earle Haley and
Shanti Lowry, will premiere in US cities in late August with live musical
accompaniment by Wynton Marsalis, renowned pianist Cecile Licad and an 11-piece
all-star jazz ensemble, including Sherman Irby, Victor Goines, and Wycliffe
Gordon. Marsalis will play a score comprised primarily of his own compositions.
Licad will play the music of 19th century American composer L.M. Gottschalk. The
group will perform live with the film in a series of special performances in New
York City, Chicago, Washington DC, Detroit, and Philadelphia August 25 - 31.

Shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond as a modern
re-imagining of early silent film, LOUIS is an homage to Louis Armstrong,
Charlie Chaplin, beautiful women and the birth of American music. The grand
Storyville bordellos, alleys and cemeteries of 1907 New Orleans provide a
backdrop of lust, blood and magic for 6 year old Louis (Anthony Coleman) as he
navigates the colorful intricacies of life in the city. Young Louis’s dreams of
playing the trumpet are interrupted by a chance meeting with a beautiful and
vulnerable girl named Grace (Lowry) and her baby, Jasmine. Haley, in a
performance reminiscent of the great comic stars of the silent screen, plays the
evil Judge Perry who is determined not to let Jasmine's true heritage derail his
candidacy for governor.

"The idea of accompanying a silent film about Louis Armstrong as a 6 year-old
negotiating the streets of 1907 New Orleans was appealing to me," says Marsalis.
"Of course, calling it a silent film is a misnomer -- there will be plenty of
music, and jazz is like a conversation between the players so there'll be no
shortage of dialogue. I look forward to playing with Cecile. The contrast
between Gottschalk's music and jazz can be a revelation to those unfamiliar with
Gottschalk's music and jazz."

"The combination of Cecile playing Gottschalk and Wynton & ensemble playing jazz
paints a broad picture of the American musical landscape," notes Pritzker. "I
was writing a screenplay about Buddy Bolden, the first jazz trumpeter of New
Orleans, and I took my mom to see Chaplin's City Lights with the Chicago
Symphony performing the score. It was without a doubt the best movie experience
I ever had. The challenge of trying to tell a story visually, without dialogue,
was compelling. I thought that if I was going to shoot one film (Bolden), I'd
try to shoot two -- the second being a silent film that picked up where Bolden
ended. And it put Vilmos and me on even footing -- he'd never made a silent film
either."